Being Your Shy Self
by SaltySeaDogKP14
Summary: When a large tortoise arrives at Fluttershy's cabin she unexpectedly meets a new pony, Reptibian, who teaches her a valuable lesson about being herself.


Thanks for taking the time to read this! It's not an epic tale, and I am by no means a writer, this is something I wrote while bored at work. Any feedback is much appreciated! Thanks again!

* * *

Fluttershy looked around on the warm summer's day as the sun rose on Equestria. The birds were singing, the flowers were in bloom and it was looking as if it would be a wonderful day. Soon she would have to feed the animals, but right now she just wanted to walk in the cool shade of the forest for a bit. As she sniffed some of the wildflowers she hummed her favorite summertime tune, which was a melody she had learned from her childhood. She returned to her woodland house and began to feed the animals; they were like normal, overjoyed to see her and the food. She paused a second, thinking if she wanted to eat a salad, but she decided since it was such a glorious day, starting it off with a bowl of oats wouldn't be too bad.

Suddenly, there was a small quiver in the house which startled Fluttershy. Finding herself under the table, nearby animals came to comfort her.

"Oh my, what do you think that was?" Fluttershy asked, answering the animal's question of if she knew what the shake in house had been. When it happened again Fluttershy wasn't as startled but she felt herself flinch a bit. But now she was curious. What could be causing this? She considered peaking outside but then she heard a strange noise right outside and the house shook again, even stronger now than the first time. From the safety of her bed, under her blanket she could hear the sound still outside. The she heard another sound; it was the cheeping of baby birds. In her excitement she had forgotten that there was a nest full of baby birds in her newest bird house outside. The baby birds sounded horribly frightened, but the sound was coming from that exact location as well. It didn't take long however, for Fluttershy to know what she had to do.

Taking a deep breath, chest puffing out and with the meanest glare she could muster she flew through the window and into the front yard. She did have to admit that she had closed her eyes out of habit of not wanting to see things that make horrifying noises but upon opening them she could finally see the cause of all the trouble.

In front of her was the largest tortoise she had ever seen! She was mesmerized for a moment, until the tortoise began to move again. It was headed toward the birdhouse! And even though the tortoise was a gentle creature, its mere size could be very dangerous to her birdhouse. There was little time to decide what to do; she jumped between the birdhouse and the tortoise.

"Hello, um, Mr. Tortoise, it's very nice of you to drop by but if you could just not come over here, you see…" the tortoise wasn't listening and was still approaching the birdhouse, slowly, but still approaching. Seeing that the tortoise wasn't listening she had to do something different. Flying up and peering into the birdhouse she could see the baby birds still couldn't fly. Looking back at the tortoise and seeing his course had not changed, she concluded what she must do. She grabbed onto the birdhouse with all four hooves and with her wings she began to lift. She tugged but it did not budge. If only one of her friends were here, Rainbow Dash could probably lift this, but Rainbow Dash wasn't here, nobody was here, it was up to her. Refocusing her efforts she tried again she strained with all her might, feeling the sweat already begin to bead on her forehead. The birdhouse budged a bit, she gently but quickly wiggled the birdhouse to loosen up the hold it hand on the ground and with one final pull pulled the birdhouse from the ground. The sharp tip of the stake bumped the tortoise's shell as it passed. That was a close one.

"Whew!" Fluttershy exhaled while taking the birdhouse over to her chicken coup, placing it in the corner where it would be safer. She trotted back to where the tortoise was, nibbling on a berry bush that was near the former location of the birdhouse. "What are we going to do with you now Mr. Tortoise?"

* * *

My Little Pony, My Little Pony Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh…[**Twilight Sparkle**] (My Little Pony) I used to wonder what friendship could be (My Little Pony )Until you all shared its magic with me [**Rainbow Dash**] Big adventure [**Pinkie Pie**] Tons of fun [**Rarity**] A beautiful heart [**Applejack**] Faithful and strong [**Fluttershy**] Sharing kindness [**Twilight Sparkle**] It's an easy feat! And magic makes it all complete You have my little ponies Do you know you're all my very best friends?

* * *

"Wow that is one big reptile!" Twilight Sparkle said as she approached from the lane.

"Oh! Twilight! I am so very sorry that I didn't show up to help you clean tops of your bookshelves today, you see this fella here just sort of, showed up, and I don't think he should be left alone." Fluttershy said disappointed that she had let her friend down.

"It's not a problem at all Fluttershy, you're right, he probably should be watched, he looks like he could be dangerous. I'm sort of glad that I came looking for you, I've never seen a specimen of this species in such size! If it's ok with you, I have a book on the record sizes of animals in Equestria and I'd like to check and see if this one is in fact the biggest."

"That would be fine, he's calmed down a lot since we first met, haven't you Mr. Tortoise?" Fluttershy said smiling and patting it on the head. She was relieved to hear that Twilight was not angry with her for not showing up.

"All right, I'll be back!" Twilight said and trotted off. When Twilight was out of sight Fluttershy began to question where this tortoise of giant magnitude had come from. Soon as she let her guard down the tortoise, having finished with the berry push, began heading toward her pear tree.

"Oh, hey, um, Mr. Tortoise? I'd really appreciate it if you didn't, please don't, oh…well I guess that's ok." Fluttershy winced as the tortoise reared up on its hind legs and put it's full weight on the tree, bending it close to the ground.

"Oh my goodness! I am so sorry for all of this! Charles, down, down boy!" said a male unicorn who had come seemingly out of nowhere. "Come here boy!" said the unicorn waving a small red ball with the use of magic in front of the tortoise's eyes. The tortoise returned to four legs and slowly headed toward the ball. The unicorn threw the ball then faced Fluttershy. He was a light brown earth color, with very pale green hair and green eyes.

"I'm so sorry about your tree, has Charles damaged anything else? I can guarantee the preserve will pay for it if he has."

"Oh no, he's been quite a dear." Fluttershy said watching the tortoise still heading toward where the red ball had landed.

"My name is Reptibian, but my friends call me Tib, I work at the nature preserve over in Rhode Apple Island." The unicorn said extending a hoof. With all the excitement and fear for the tree and the slight humor at seeing a tortoise plays fetch Fluttershy had overlooked the fact that she was talking to a brand new pony that she had never met before. Upon the realization of this she instantly began to blush.

"I'm, I'm Fluttershy." She was able to say in a soft tone, being sure to not make eye contact. Tib's hoof was still extended awkwardly waiting for the return gesture, but seeing as this female Pegasus did not return the gesture he put his hoof down.

"I hope you're not mad, even though you have every right to be, a giant tortoise on your property can be a devastating event." Remembering that Tib had put out his hoof and she did not return it Fluttershy had made herself look like she was mad at Tib. She didn't want him to think she was mad at him!

"I'm sorry I didn't shake your hoof, I didn't mean to offend you." Fluttershy said quickly. Soon she realized the awkwardness of the situation and became terrified. It took all of her courage to stay and it was almost painful to stay, she wanted to fly into the woods as quick as she could, but with a small breath she was able to calm herself down. "I mean, I'm not mad at all, in fact I'm very glad that Mr- uh, Charles found me. I've never seen such a large tortoise." She said, gaining confidence with every word. There was something about Tib that calmed her down, it could have been that he was being very apologetic or the way that he interacted with Charles.

"Few have unfortunately, I'm afraid he's one of the last of his kind."

"Oh that's terrible!"

"I know, I wish there was another Giant Tortoise for him to be with." Tib said taking the ball out of the mouth of Charles, who had finally returned. Twilight Sparkle also appeared with two saddle bags full of books.

"You won't believe it Fluttershy! This tortoise is not only one of the super rare Giant Tortoises, but THE BIGGEST Giant Tortoise ever to live!"

"Ha-ha, that's right!" Tib chimed in.

"And you must be Reptibian, you're picture's right here!" Twilight said showing both Tib and Fluttershy the picture of Tib and Charles. "It's pretty cool to meet such a well-known Herpetologist."

"A former-Herpetologist, now I just take care of Charles here."

"What is Charles doing so far from Rhode Apple Island, and how did he get off? Tortoise's don't swim very well at all." Fluttershy said, finding comfort in a conversation about animals.

"Rhode Apple Island is a bit of a misnomer, it's not actually an island at all, although that would be nice wouldn't it? And unfortunately, Charles has been leaving the preserve from time to time, wandering around in search of a mate. This is the farthest he's ever gotten before I could find him. The people back at the nature preserve aren't going to be too happy with me." Tib said seeming downhearted.

"At least you found him, that's the important part." Fluttershy said as Charles gave her the red ball to throw.

"Finding him wasn't the hard part, it'll be getting him back which will be a problem. See he's too heavy for a carriage, and Charles doesn't do well on trains, he doesn't like loud noises."

"I could simply teleport him back using magic, that shouldn't be too hard." Twilight said smiling at her abilities.

"Thank you for the offer, but Charles is very old and any shock may be harmful to him. I couldn't imagine how sad I would be if anything happened to him. I'll have to walk him back, like I've done many times before." There was a slight breeze in the air and no pony noticed when it changed direction, but Charles did. Charles extended his neck to sniff the air. His eyes widened and his head turned.

"Oh no… Get out of the way!" Tib said moving the rest of the ponies and himself to the side out of Charles's new path.

"What's wrong with him?" Twilight asked as they followed him

"Nothing, he's still hungry and he smells something he likes."

"What does he like?" Fluttershy asked hovering above Tib and Twilight.

"You guys, uh, wouldn't happen to have any apples around here would you?"

* * *

Applejack walked around the orchard checking each tree for rotten fruit and noting the amount fallen bad fruit on the ground. Unfortunately there was a lot on the ground this year, the summer had been a bit dry and although they try to keep up with the watering of the trees, there were simply too many to get al l of them. The trees on the far end of the orchard were fairing the worst, putting a reservoir on this side of the orchard would be a good idea, although they didn't have time this season before the harvest. Then after harvest there was cider season and during the winter they would be pruning and in the spring they would be planting. Maybe they would have time between spring and summer of next year. Lost in thought, it took Applejack a long time to see the large, round figuring approaching her off in the distance.

"What in tarnation?" She said, straining her eyes against the afternoon sun. She could see some dots following the slow moving object; she could tell by the colors and the way that they moved that they were her friends. With her curiosity peaked, she began to trot toward them.

"That's, uh, a mighty big critter ya got there." Applejack said with a smile. "Where y'all headed?"

"Charles here is hungry, and we think he'd like some apples." Fluttershy said landing next to Applejack.

"No way no how is that humungous garden gobbler getting in my orchard! We're turning out to have a bad harvest this year as it is!" Applejack protested in anger.

"Oh come on Applejack, he can't eat too much….right?" Fluttershy said motioning to Tib.

"Are you kidding me? Look at the size of this behemoth! I wouldn't be surprised if he ate three whole apple trees!"

"The nature preserve that I work for can pay for the apples that he eats how much to you think that will be?" Tib said walking up next to Applejack

"Well how much does he eat?" Was her response.

"He'll probably eat about… one hundred apples?" Tib said unsure of the number.

"Well that'll cost ya two-hundred bits." Applejack said sticking her nose up a bit.

"Two-hundred bits! The- the preserve can't afford that kind of money!"

"Well business is business darlin' no matter if the customer is a pony or some huge scaly monster."

"Charles is not a monster." Tib said with the first motion of hostility he showed all day.

"What about those apples on the ground, you don't use those now do you Applejack?" Fluttershy said, hoping to make peace.

"Well…I guess I do need to get rid of those now don't I?" Applejack pondered a bit, pausing to touch a hoof to her chin. "I guess that could do."

"So if you need to get rid of them, I guess you should be paying me." Tib said with a smirk, hoping to brighten the mood between the two.

"Don't get pushy." Applejack said giving him a dagger vision stare.

They sat in the orchard in the afternoon making sure Charles eat only the apples on the ground. It wasn't too difficult, it would be more work for the tortoise to reach the apples. Tib and Twilight would make a small shield around the branch Charles was reaching for, he would then continue eating the apples on the ground. Applejack wouldn't leave Charles, not trusting Tib to keep the tortoise from destroying her crops. Applebloom eventually brought out blankets to lie on and sweet tea to drink. Twilight asked if she would go ask Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie if they would care to join them for the remainder of the afternoon.

Eventually Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity arrived, Pinkie Pie brought marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate to make smores, Rarity brought an inflatable mattress and a rather fancy, lacey tent to share with the other mares and Rainbow Dash who didn't realize they were bringing things cleared the few clouds that blocked their view from the beautiful evening sky. Applebloom had told them it was a camp out, which was a surprise to the rest of the ponies but as they watched the sun approach the horizon they figured Applebloom's miscommunication had been a blessing in disguise because it was turning out to be a wonderful evening.

Fluttershy watched Tib help bed down Charles for the night, under the watchful eye of Applejack of course. She had never seen another pony who shared her love of animals so much. She let her mind wander about what life would be like if two ponies like that were to live together, they could have a day where they wash the animals together, and help make bird nests and-

"You're looking at him, aren't you?" A voice from behind Fluttershy said jarring her from her daze.

"EEP!" Fluttershy let out a small squeal at the surprise.

"I mean he is rather dashing, a bit, um, _woodsy_ for my tastes however for you, I can certainly see the connection." Rarity said softly smiling sheepishly.

"I wasn't thinking about- not like that, I mean, I guess it'd be nice to talk to him more, we do have a lot in common." Fluttershy said blushing walking away from where the tortoise had bedded down.

"Of course you do, and I know exactly how to win his heart!" Rarity said obviously getting very excited. "Follow my lead darling." She said walking towards the Apple family's house. Fluttershy looked back and the campfire, Twilight Sparkle was telling the others about the mythology behind the star constellations, (one of her favorite topics) with Tib politely listing while Rainbow Dash was starting to drift off due to boredom. Pinkie Pie was trying to make the biggest smore she possibly could so they all seem entertained and would not miss her and Rarity's presence.

In the house Rarity opened her bag revealing an entire make-up kit, combs and brushes, a hair straightener and curler and fake eyelashes. Rarity worked quickly, and soon Fluttershy was able to look at herself in the mirror. She did look rather pretty she thought; her naturally straight hair had been given slight curls every now and then. She had been given fake eyelashes and lipstick which, even though was a bit too strong for her tastes, did look good. She probably could have done without the blush she thought, she would be blushing plenty and she wasn't too sure about the eyeliner, but she trusted her friend Rarity.

"Simply walk out of here and ask him if he would like to go on a walk in the orchard. Now, boys like to be complimented on their talents and features, so be sure to do that. They also like to talk about themselves so ask a lot of questions. And don't forget to look deeply and longingly into his eyes." Rarity said caught up in her own image of how the date would play out.

"Ok…" Fluttershy said, unsure of how she would be able to do those kinds of things.

"I almost forgot! You will look absolutely extravagant this!" Rarity said pulling out a blue summer dress.

"Oh Rarity, I couldn't possibly wear your dress, not to go on a walk in the orchard." Fluttershy protested.

"Ha-ha, darling I made this to go to a cousins wedding and only wore it once last year, in fact I've been looking for a way to get rid of it, no offense. Roll around in the mud in it if you must!"

"Oh thank you Rarity! It's wonderful." Fluttershy put it on the dress and looked in the mirror for a final time.

"No my dear, _you_ look wonderful, go get'em champ" Rarity said with a wink and then a slight shove out the door.

* * *

Fluttershy was very nervous, she had never done anything like this before and although she wanted to, she also didn't want to. But Rarity had gone to so much trouble to make her look especially pretty, and she knew she looked pretty, which made her feel confident. She saw Tib looking up at the stars learning against Charles's shell. She hid behind a tree and breathed in and out a couple of times.

"I could still back out, there's no shame in that. But you'd regret never doing it, you'd always wonder what if. I must ask, it's only a question right?" Fluttershy said to herself behind the tree.

"You know, some ponies think it's not healthy to talk to yourself." Tib said standing up and walking towards Fluttershy. Fluttershy froze. Once Tib saw Fluttershy in her fancy dress and make-up and with a weird panicked look on her face he was puzzled. "Are, uh, you ok?" He asked cocking an eyebrow.

"Do you want to go for on a walk in the orchard with me." She said too softly to hear.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Tib asked

"Do you want to go for a walk in the orchard with me?" She asked again with her eyes closed.

"I would love to go for a walk, but do you think we could walk in the woods? I know the Moon Flower grows in this region of Equestria, but I've never seen one before." Tib answered.

"Oh really? I know exactly where a patch of them are around here!" Fluttershy said taking the lead. That wasn't so hard, she thought. As they walked Fluttershy figured she should start implementing Rarity's advice. "You, uh, have, uh, nice green hair." She said forcing a smile.

"…Thanks, I like your pink hair too." He responded both not wanting to look at each other because of the awkwardness, which only produced an awkward silence.

"So, I see your cutie mark is a snake that's uh, pretty tough, I guess." Fluttershy said, her attempts at flattering him getting weirder and weirder. "How did you get it?"

"When I was a colt I was walking along my grandmother's creek when I saw two dragons. They were mean looking so I hid behind a tree. I was going to sneak away but I overhead them talking about a snake so I turned around to see they were playing with a small snake in front of them. Then I heard one of them say they were going to tie it in a knot. I didn't want to believe them but as I watched I could see they were going to do it. I ran out and jumped in between them and told them to leave the snake alone. They were going to attack me but I made a force field of magic around me and the snake, which was funny because I was always weak at magic, but that shield held until the dragons got bored and left." Tib said looking mostly at the ground.

"Wow, that's really brave." Fluttershy said sincerely.

"I wasn't thinking, if I was I don't think I would have done it, I'm not a brave pony at all, but seeing that harmless snake just hit my emotions so much I just acted out of instinct. I guess that's how you get your cutie mark though." There was a brief pause then Tib started speaking again. "A lot of ponies are scared of snakes and frogs and toads and things, but what ponies don't understand is that they're not evil, they're just different, and we should accept them for what they are. What about your cutie mark? I remember it was butterflies correct?" Tib said looking at Fluttershy whose dress covered up her cutie mark. She blushed a bit realizing that he remembered what her cutie mark was.

"When I was a little filly I was never a good flier. One day I fell from the Cloudsdale but I landed on a bunch of migrating butterflies. I had never been to the ground before, it was wonderful I loved all of it so much, the birds, the bunnies, the squirrels, all the cute little furry animals. I found that I could communicate with them in a special way. I know it's not a very good story, but that's how I got my cutie mark." Fluttershy said.

"I think that's a great way for a pony to get a cutie mark." Tib said. Fluttershy remembered what Rarity had said about eye contact and locked eyes with Tib. Her gaze came off as very creepy to Tib as they walked down the woodland path. Tib looked forward a bit uncomfortable

"Fluttershy, are you ok? It seems as though you're acting funny."

"I'm, uh, feeling fine… how are you feeling?" looking away from the eye contact.

"I'm good … it's just with the dress and all, and are you wearing make-up?"

"Uh, no, uh yes, I mean, it just looks like I'm wearing make-up, because of the moonlight."

"Ok…" Tib said a little disappointed that he wasn't able to get to the bottom of what was causing Fluttershy to act so odd. They began to cross a log that spanned over a bubbling stream. "So the patch of Moon Flowers is right over here?"

"Yep, there's a clearing over on-" Fluttershy was unable to finish her sentence because he dress had gotten caught on a branch and ripped, the force of the branch grabbing the cloth was just enough for Fluttershy to lose her balance. She tumbled plot first into the stream. It wasn't too deep, but her head had gone under water. When she came up out of the chilly water she looked her reflection. Her eye liner had run all the way down her face, her make-up was smeared, her fake eye lashes were stuck to her cheeks and her slightly curly hair become entirely straight.

"Are you alright!" Tib yelled while jumping down from the log to help her.

"Please, just stay away, don't look at me, I look horrible! Fluttershy said closing her eyes and sunk lower into the stream.

"No you don't Fluttershy I-"

"I tried so hard to look nice and to act nice, I just wanted you to like me." Fluttershy said with tears beginning to roll down cheeks.

"Fluttershy, is that what this was all about?" Tib got closer to Fluttershy and put his hoof under her chin. "I do like you, but not because you wore a pretty dress or complimented me or wore fake eyelashes" Tib said brushing a fake eyelash of Fluttershy's cheek. "I like you because your kind and sweet, and you took care of Charles when I wasn't there, you cared about him because that's who you are, and that's all people should ever ask of you. You should never try to get people to like you by being something you're not, they should like you for who you are, and trust me, they will." Taking a ripped piece of the dress that was floating in the stream Tib wiped Fluttershy's tear and make-up stained face. There was a lot of things Fluttershy wanted to say, but she just blushed and smiled. "So do you still know where those Moon Flowers are?" Tib said with a smile.

"Follow me." She said and took the lead. Hearing Tib say what he had made her feel warm on the inside, and less insecure, she was very comfortable with his presence. The flower patch wasn't too far from the stream.

"Wow… these are beautiful!" Tib said dumbfounded at the glowing luminesce of the blue-violet flowers. Like many parts of Equestria the glowing flowers in the clearing of the middle of the forest with the stars and moon overhead looked much like an oil painting.

"Moon Flowers are pretty rare, even in Ponyville." Fluttershy said bending down to sniff the flowers but being very careful not to crush any of them.

"I've seen some other bio-luminescent flowers, but I've got to admit, these are my favorite, and they smell, like lavender!" Tib said, joining Fluttershy in sniffing the flowers.

"I'm sorry about Applejack; she's very focused on the farm and taking care of the family." Fluttershy said, feeling a bit embarrassed for Applejack's behavior earlier in the day.

"It's quite alight; she seems like a very savvy business-pony. Your other friends seem nice too."

"Oh yes, they're the best friends a pony could ask for."

"I noticed you have a lot of animals at your house, do you take care of them all?" Tib asked.

"Yes, I help all the woodland creatures when they're hurt or need a home; I also give the bird singing lessons and give performances. I help a lot of ponies' pets too."

"I used to help watch over all the animals at the preserve, but when Charles started wandering away more often I was assigned to look after him." This made Tib conscious of how far away from Charles he actually was. He was having a good time with Fluttershy, and had lost all track of time. "I think we should head back, before your farming friend decides to make tortoise soup." Tib said jokingly. Fluttershy smiled at the humor and took the lead again. She had to admit that she made a selfish decision and decided to take the long way back. She enjoyed Tib's company, and didn't want this night to end. He seemed to be having a good time; his gaze was focused primarily on the forest, observing how the moonlight came through the trees. She began to do the same but when she looked back at him he quickly turned his head. Fluttershy blushed, knowing he had been looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"It stinks that I'm heading back to the preserve tomorrow." Tib said sincerely.

"I know, there's a lot of other things around Ponyville I could show you if we had the time."

"For once, I'm glad that Charles wandered so far. I'm glad I could meet you." Tib said

"Me too, it's been wonderful. I'm sorry I acted so strangely."

"Ha-ha, it's fine, I do think your dress is pretty though, it's a shame it got ripped and soaked." Tib said.

"I know, I'm sure I can mend it when I get home. Rarity made it, she's one of the best seamstress's in all of Equestria."

"That was very generous of her to let you wear it for the night." They arrived back where the rest of the ponies and Charles were sleeping. The fire had died down but it didn't matter because it was a fairly warm night, and the moon provided plenty of light.

"Good, I didn't think Charles would get up, but I couldn't help but worry," Tib said breathing a sigh of relief when he was positive that Charles had not moved. Both Tib and Fluttershy paused for a second.

"Well…I guess I'll see you in the morning, huh?" Tib said

"For sure," Fluttershy said smiling at the fact that this wasn't goodbye. Then Tib leaned in and nuzzled her cheek. Fluttershy let out a hushed gasp from surprise then her face turned red but she was still smiling.

"Goodnight Fluttershy." Tib said and walked away to hop up on Charles shell, where he had spent many nights before. Fluttershy was still too surprised to say anything she went into Rarity's tent and laid down on a spot that was saved for her.

"How was it dear?" Rarity said, half asleep.

"It was wonderful, absolutely wonderful." Fluttershy said taking off the still slightly damp dress and snuggling into the blankets.

* * *

The sun rose a bit hotter than normal, burning away the early morning dew. The ponies all woke up to the smell of doughnuts cooking over the fire in a cast iron skillet. Applejack had begun cooking in the earl morning, Pinkie Pie was quick to help. She took care of putting the powdered sugar and cinnamon in the paper bags with a doughnuts and shaking them. Fluttershy awoke excited to see Tib again this morning; she exited the tent to see him talking to Twilight Sparkle.

"We can help get you on the right path, but I don't' think we can escort you all the way back to Rhode Apple Island." Twilight said looking at her map that she had brought out of her bag of books.

"Thanks I'd appreciate that, and the journey's going to take about two days at Charles's pace so I wouldn't ask that of you guys, you've done so much for me already."

"Well, don't forget about yer vittles for the trip!" Applejack said, taking off two bags of food supplies for the journey home.

"I honestly can't thank you enough for all that you've done," Tib's eye's met Fluttershy's and he smiled, but it quickly went away. "I guess we should be going now, huh Charles?" Fluttershy's heart sank. She didn't want him to go so soon. He began to shake everypony's hoof, thanking them and bidding farewell. He came to Fluttershy last; they didn't shake hooves, they just paused. Tib looked into Fluttershy's eyes and spoke first.

"I had a great time with you Fluttershy. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

"Do you think you'll come visit me?" Tib asked hopefully.

"Of course I will."

"Good, Charles would like that." Tib said letting a large smile slowly form on his face. There was a slight pause. "Goodbye Fluttershy…" Tib said leaning in and nuzzling her cheek. Fluttershy felt a bit embarrassed because she was still in front of her friends. But realizing that this was the last time that she would see him for a while when he pulled away she quickly touched her nose to his for a brief moment. It was Tib's turn to be embarrassed now, as he blushed and smiled. They shared a gaze for a brief moment then he turned and walked away jumping atop Charles's shell and looking back waved and shouted, "goodbye everypony!"

Fluttershy watched as the slow tortoise made his way out across the orchard and over the hill. She couldn't tell because of the distance but she was sure he was looking back at her as well. When Tib was out of hearing distance Fluttershy's friends gathered around asking all the questions they could.

"If it's okay with you guys, I, um, just want to be alone right now." Fluttershy said, not making eye contact with any of them. They were a bit confused but gave her her space. Applejack came back later in the afternoon to find Fluttershy lying down in the shade of a tree and sniffling. She wasn't sobbing, there was only a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"Aww sugarcube, you'll see'im again, don't worry." Said Applejack, putting an arm around Fluttershy. Fluttershy wiped away the tear.

"I'm not sad, I'm happy. I felt things that I never felt before, but I guess I am a bit sad that he's gone." Fluttershy said looking up at Applejack, who gave a gentle chuckle.

"Love's confusing darlin', it'll make you cry when you want to laugh, and laugh when you want to cry."

"I guess so, thanks AJ. Do you think I should visit him this weekend?" Fluttershy asked standing up.

"I think that's a great idea. Now come on inside we got the tea kettle boil'n and Rarity's dying to hear about your 'ups and downs of your romantic endeavor'." Applejack said rolling her eyes and putting on her best Rarity impression. Fluttershy smiled and followed her into the house.

At night when Fluttershy got home and slipped into her comfy nightrobe she sat down at her desk and picked up her quill and dipped into a jar of ink.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I learned that you should never be something you're not to impress somepony. They should like you for who you are, not who you pretend to be. I also learned that something that is more than friendship can be more than just magical.

Your humble subject,

Fluttershy


End file.
